


Jurassic World Au (Rickyl)

by Sourwolf_sterek32



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Zombie Apocalypse, Daryl Dixon/Rick Grimes Feels, Homophobic Language, M/M, Past Child Abuse, Rick Grimes Loves Daryl Dixon, Rickyl, daryl dixon loves his raptors, daryl is basically owen, rick is basically claire, the walking dead / jurassic world
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-15
Updated: 2019-07-25
Packaged: 2019-11-18 10:34:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18119072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sourwolf_sterek32/pseuds/Sourwolf_sterek32
Summary: It's been 13 years since Daryl Dixon last saw Rick Grimes. A lot had changed in 13 years. Daryl had finally gotten his life on track and was now the main animal worker at Jurassic World. He knew Rick had recently been hired at the park as the new Operations Manager and Daryl had managed to avoid the man for nearly 3 years while they both worked at the park. But, he was bound to run into his ex sooner or later, he just wished it was later.Basically, The Walking Dead and Jurassic World crossover that nobody asked for, but I wanted.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, so I know I usually write Daryl Dixon x Reader fics, but I've had this idea for a Rickyl Jurassic World fic stuck in my head for weeks and I decided to finally write it. This is my first ever Rickyl fic and hope you guys like enjoy it. I would love to hear your thoughts about it below.  
> Anyway, have a great day everyone and stay safe xx

  
If someone had told Daryl when he was younger, that he'd be working at Jurassic World and training raptors, he would have laughed and called them crazy.

Growing up in a small shitty neighbourhood with his alcoholic, abusive father and his older brother, Merle, Daryl never thought much about his future. He figured he would just work for Dale at the local mechanics and live in the trailer park with Merle for the rest of his life, doing whatever his brother was doing.

But, when his brother got sentence to jail for 10 years, Daryl knew he needed to get his own life in order if didn't want to follow his brothers footsteps. So when he got a call from his boss, Dale, who said he might have a better, higher paying job for him, Daryl jumped at the idea.

It turned out that Dale's adopted daughter, Andrea, was quitting her job at Jurassic World, but her boss wouldn't let her leave until she found and trained another worker to take her place and apparently Dale thought he would be good for the role.

He was no stranger to hard work and knew how to work with animals, he practically grew up in the woods surrounded by Mother Nature, but he had never dealt with dinosaurs. Of course, he knew all about Jurassic World and all the dinosaurs the island had on it, it was the biggest tourist destination in the world, but he had never been there.

When Andrea had called him, wanting to do an over-the-phone interview, he was almost positive that he wouldn't get the job. He was honest with her, told her that the only job he ever had was with Dale at the mechanics, that he completed high school, but didn't have any further education. He said he was handy with tools and could do any manual labour at the park if they needed it and knew how to work with animals, but had no experience with dinosaurs. After nearly 20 minutes of talking, Andrea had thanked him for his time and told him she would get back to him within a week about the position.

Now, eight years later with an ethologist certificate behind him, Daryl was the main animal worker at Jurassic World. He worked closely with four raptors in particular, that he had hand raised since birth. But he still worked with and around most the other animals at the park, along with a lot of handy man work since he seemed to be the only worker around the island who knew how to use a damn hammer.

"Hold!" Daryl yelled, his hands up as stared down at the velociraptors from his position on the catwalk above their enclosure. "Hey! Eyes on me! Blue!" He shouted trying to get her attention as he pressed the clicker in his right hand which got her attention quickly. But within a second she began walking towards the small door where a pig had run through only moments earlier.

"Blue! Watch it! Charlie. Hey, don't give me that shit!" Daryl ordered, keeping his voice stern as he pointed towards the two raptors to the left, the other two actually being well-behaved for once. "Good. And we're movin'." Daryl called out, still holding his hand up for the raptors below him as he began walking across the catwalk towards a plastic bucket he tied to the railing, filled with meat.

"S'good. That is damn good. See, Charlie, that's what ya get!" Daryl called, pressing the clicker as he grabbed a piece of meat and threw it down to her as she snatched it out the air. "Echo, there ya go. Delta. Blue? This one's for ya" He continued throwing them all pieces of meat until all of them had piece which were gone within seconds.

"Eyes up!... Go!" Daryl instructed lowering his hand as the raptors scattered away and suddenly his fellow workers at the enclosure began clapping and cheering.

"You finally did it, man." Aaron exclaimed in excitement as jogged across the catwalk towards him, shaking his hand. Daryl had been working with Aaron for the past year with these raptors and considered the other man a good friend. But, this was the first time the raptors completed the drill and listened to him the entire time. It was progress.

"Daryl. I was starting to think I hired the wrong guys for this research project, but damn, you got them eating out of your palm." Negan suddenly called as Daryl locked eyes with Aaron who just rolled his eyes. Neither of them liked the leader of the project, he kept talking about wanting to use the raptors for military purposes, wanting to weaponize these unique animals, but no way would Daryl let that happen.

"Ya came on a good day. It ain't usually a happy endin'." Daryl responded turning to face the other man as Negan walked out onto the catwalk towards them.

Very quickly the three of them began arguing about using the raptors for the military, causing Aaron to walk off in annoyance.

"Ya made 'em, and now ya think ya own 'em." Daryl muttered, shaking his head in frustration as he began walking off after Aaron before Negan continued talking.

"We do own them. Extinct animals have no rights."

"They ain't extinct no more." Daryl snapped, glaring at the other man causing Negan to chuckle. They both knew they disliked each other, but there wasn't anything either of them could do about it. Negan ran the research program and the park owner, Hershel Greene hired Daryl as the leading animal handler, so Negan had no control over firing him.

"Exactly. We're sitting on a goldmine and Greene is using it to stock a petting zoo. He doesn't make weapons. You think that the eighth richest man in the world is only into oil, telecom and family fun parks? He's so diversified, he doesn't even know what he owns." Negan said as Daryl shook his head and began walking down the stairs outside of the enclosure before he opened up a metal barred door. Locking it behind himself so Negan couldn't follow him as the other man leant his elbows along with metal railings of the door, staring at him.

"Look around, Daryl. Every living thing in this jungle is trying to murder the other. Mother Nature's way of testing her creatures. War is a struggle. Struggle breeds greatness. These animals can replace thousands of boots on the ground in the military. War is apart of nature." Negan continued, but Daryl was barely listening as he made sure the other metal barred door on the other side of the small area was secure since it lead directly into the raptors enclosure.

"Do ya hear yourself when ya talk?" He questioned, glancing over his shoulder towards Negan.

"This is gonna happen. With or without you. Progress always wins, man."

"Maybe progress should lose for once." Daryl muttered, turning away from Negan as he frowned hearing a pig squealing, there shouldn't be a pig out, whats going on?

"Pig loose! Pig loose!" Someone yelled as a man with a snare pole raced across the catwalk above the enclosure and Daryl watched in panic as the man fell, landing on the dirt inside the enclosure. Shit.

Without a second thought Daryl quickly hit the button beside the other door, as the metal door that lead into the enclosure slowly began rising.

"Daryl, no!" Aaron yelled from somewhere behind him, but it was too late, he was already ducking underneath the door as he sprinted towards the man on the ground. He spotted two rangers on the catwalk aiming their guns at the raptors who were walking towards the man.

"No, no, hold your fire!" He shouted as he quickly put himself between the worker on the ground and his four raptors, his hands raised towards them, trying to show that he wasn't a threat. "Do not fire! Put 12 amps in these animals, they ain't ever gonna trust me again." Daryl stated glancing up at the rangers who slowly lowered their weapons.

"Blue, stand down. Stand down." Daryl said calmly as Blue snapped at him, taking a step forward. "Hey, hey! What did I just say? Delta, I see ya. Back up. Okay, good. Close the gate."

"Are you crazy?!" Aaron yelled, who was now standing by the control switch for the door that Daryl had gone through, after helping the worker safely inside.

"Just trust me." Daryl replied, not taking his eyes off the raptors as he slowly took a few steps backwards. He could hear the door starting to close before he dropped and rolled underneath the gate at the last second as the raptors slammed their heads against the metal gate, clearly having chased him.

Aaron quickly rushed over to him, helping him to his feet as Daryl gave him a reassuring nod to show that he was okay before he turned his attention to the younger worker who had fallen inside.

"You're the new guy, right?" He asked, only just realising how young the man was.

"Yeah, Patrick."

"Ya ever wonder why there was a job openin'? Hey, don't ever turn ya back to the cage." Daryl instructed as he turned around, spotting Negan still leaning against the other gate with a grin before he walked off. Whatever Negan was planning wasn't going to be good and Daryl was going to do everything he can to keep his raptors out of it.

-

Ricks life had been anything but simple. He's life started out normal, with your normal everyday family. He's been openly bisexual since high school and worked part time at the local supermarket, until he graduated high school and then applied for the police academy with his best friend, Shane Walsh.

It wasn't long after Rick graduated from the academy that his whole life turn upside down when a woman called Lori, who he had been friends with for years told him that she was pregnant with his child. Soon after Carl was born, the two of them got married and for a while everything seemed to be going really well.

But, by the time Carl turned 11, he and Lori had began to drift apart and a few months later they both decided that it would be best for everyone if they got a divorce, but despite splitting up the two of them remained friends. It wasn't anyone's fault, they both just slowly fell out of love and it wasn't due to the lack of trying.

They both agreed on co-parenting Carl, wanting what was best for their boy, but a few years later Lori began dating Shane, his partner and best friend. Of course, Shane and Lori had asked if he was okay with it and he had said that he didn't mind, but what else could say? He couldn't tell them that he didn't like it, that he didn't want them being together, who was he to stand in the way of love?

But, it hurt knowing that his ex-wife and partner in the force were together and it wasn't long afterwards that Rick handed in his resignation to his boss at the station, unable to focus on work when he was around Shane and being a police officer, that could be dangerous.

He managed to find work easily enough when he applied for a position at Jurassic World and with his work experience, he was immediately accepted as a manager for the park. He still continued to co-parent Carl, although since Rick now spent most his days on the island, Carl stayed with Lori and Shane most the time and Rick would visit every weekend and spend the school holidays back home to spend time with his son.

However, these school holidays were going to be different because Carl was going to come to Jurassic World since Rick couldn't get the time off. Lori insisted that Carl should spend time with his father and what better way to do that then with dinosaurs? It sounded good at the time.

Rick would have been thrilled with the idea if Lori had told him about it a few weeks prior, or even a few days prior, not 4 hours before hand. His schedule was hectic during these school holidays, the most popular time of the year for Jurassic World with nearly record-breaking numbers of tourists pouring off the boats and onto the island.

And those numbers were only going to rise once their new attraction was open to the public; a genetically modified hybrid dinosaur by the name of Indominus Rex.

"So, when you say you want to sponsor an attraction, what do you have in mind?" Rick asked, glancing over his shoulder towards the two potential investors as the three of them walked through the main laboratory.

"We wanna be thrilled." The bald man responded as Rick stopped in front of a large display screen, knowing exactly what would catch the investors eyes.

"Don't we all? The Indominus Rex. Our first genetically modified hybrid." Rick explained, knowing that if he went into any further detail then the two men would have no idea what he was talking about.

"How did you get two different kinds of dinosaurs to... you know..." The other began to question while making awkward 'doing it' motions with his hands, but before Rick could respond Dr. Eugene Porter walked over to them.

"Oh, Indominus wasn't bred. She was designed. She will be fifty feet long when fully grown. Bigger than the T-Rex." Eugene informed with a friendly smile as he adjusted his lab coat.

"Every time we've unveiled a new asset, attendance has spiked. Global news coverage. Celebrity visitors. Eyes of the world." Rick added, turning back towards the investors who seemed to be convinced already.

"When will she be ready?"

"She already is." Eugene replied as he continued talking to the investors about the new asset allowing Rick to leave. Shit, he was already 10 minutes late. He got his assistant, Tara, to pick Carl up when he got off the boat and he promised he would meet them inside the Innovation Centre.

Rick barely made it down the main stairs before he heard Carl's voice shout his name and he looked up, spotting his son running over to him.

"Carl!" Rick shouted, practically running down the rest of the stairs before he reached the ground as Carl threw himself on him, wrapping him up in a tight hug and Rick sighed. It's been over two months since he last saw his son, he hadn't been able to get much time off lately. 

"You've grown up so much! Who's this?" Rick asked as Carl let him go, motioning towards the young girl behind him. She was roughly Carl's age and had straight long brown hair, but Rick had never seen her before.

"Enid, this is my dad. Dad, this is my best friend, Enid. She loves dinosaurs and Mum said it wouldn't be a problem if she came." Carl explained and Rick nodded, giving the young girl a friendly smile.

"Of course it's not a problem, it's a pleasure to meet you, Enid. So, I see you already got your wristbands, and this is for food." Rick said handing Carl an envelop with the Jurassic World logo on it. "And Tara here is going to take great care of you until I'm done working tonight, okay?" Rick asked, motioning towards Tara who was standing a few metres behind them, too focused on her phone to realise they were talking about her. She must be texting her girlfriend, Rick thought to himself as he smiled.

"You're not coming with us?" Carl asked and Rick hated the disappointment in his sons tone as he shook his head sadly.

"I really wish I could, but tomorrow I can take you into the control room, show you behind the scenes and all that, it'll be fun." Rick replied, trying to lift the boys spirits as Enid nodded.

"That'll be cool, Carl." Enid commented looking over at the boy who nodded in agreement and Rick mentally sighed with relief before his phone starting ringing. He pulled his phone out his pocket, reading the name on the screen and frowned in confusion when he realised it was Hershel Greene, the park owner.

"I gotta take this. I will see you guys tonight, Tara, take good care of them." Rick quickly said, giving the two kids an apologetic smile before he accepted the cool. "Mr Greene, what can I do for you?"

"I'm currently visiting the Indominus' enclosure and I am impressed, but is it safe? This dinosaur is bigger than I expected." Hershel replied.

"It is. We have the best structural engineers in the world." Rick reassured as he walked out the back door of the building so he could hear the other man clearer through the phone.

"There's an American man here, ex-mechanic, now ethologist. He's been working here for years. Daryl Dixon." Hershel explained and Rick froze, now that was a name he hadn't heard in a long time. He knew Daryl worked on the island, but he had just never seen him here in person.

"I know who he is."

"Good. His raptors often try to escape. They're smart. He has to be smarter. I want you to bring him in. Let him inspect the enclosure. Maybe he sees something we can't." Hershel instructed and Rick shook his head silently, glad that Hershel couldn't see him.

"I will do that right away, Sir." Rick answered, pinching the bridge of his nose as the other man hung up. Well, this was going to be one hell of a conversation.

 


	2. Chapter 2

  
After the incident with the raptors and Negan pissing him off, Daryl made his way back to his trailer. It was located away from any enclosures and people, so he didn't have to deal with anyone. He was busy cleaning his old Triumph Scrambler that he had modified himself to best fit the dirt and harsh terrain on the island. It reminded him a lot of Merle's old Triumph that he had bought when Daryl was just a kid.

The amount of hours the two of them had spend in their fathers garage restoring the old bike, Merle teaching him a few things here and there, but Daryl mainly taught himself everything as he worked on his brother's motorcycle. He even taught himself how to ride it, after a few crashes he finally got the hang of it and managed to fix anything he happened to break before Merle noticed.

Daryl was so focused on cleaning his own bike, he didn't even hear a car driving towards him, until he heard the car engine shut off. Nobody ever visited him at his trailer other than the occasional visit from Aaron.

He looked up and spotted a silver SUV that definitely didn't belong to his friend. He frowned in confusion as he stared at the car, trying to figure out who it was, when suddenly the drivers side door opened as man stepped out. Rick.

They had met before, a long time ago, back when Daryl was nothing but a good for nothing redneck trash who just followed his brother around everywhere.

They were both so young back then, Rick didn't have the short stubble with grey flecks along his jaw line, he was cleanshaven with neat brown hair combed back way back then. Daryl's hair was shorter and lighter back then too, almost a sandy blonde compared to his now long dark hair. Rick had been in the police academy at the time when the two of them met one night at a gay bar, just a town over from where Daryl lived.

When Daryl was younger and first realised that he was into boys and not girls, he was terrified of what people would think. Growing up how he did and around the people he did, it wasn't an option to be gay, so he never told anyone. But as he got older and after his father had died, he just grew to except it and didn't see the issue with it anymore. Now he couldn't give two shits what people thought, if they didn't like who he was then they could fuck off, simple as that.

Rick had caught his attention the second he walked through the door of that bar and for whatever reason, Rick must have noticed him as well. Within an hour the two of them were drinking and talking and just having a great time. Neither of them were at the bar to try find someone, they both just wanted a drink, have a good time and go home. Yet somehow they both ended up going home together and got closer over the following few months.

Daryl had never felt that way with anybody, the way Rick made him feel when he walked through the door... it was like time would slow down and his heart would practically beat out of his chest while his stomach did summersaults. He didn't know how to explain it, but it just felt so right and whenever they were apart it just felt wrong. They loved each other, no other words for it.

But soon enough, it all came crashing down when one of Rick's superiors from the academy saw the two of them together. The man was an ex-cop and knew all about the Dixons and had advised Rick that he should end whatever this was if he ever wanted to make it high in the police force and of course, Rick did.

Daryl didn't have the heart to blame him, he was a Dixon after all and he knew how much the police force meant to Rick, so he wasn't mad. He was upset and angry at himself for thinking that he could have someone like Rick and be happy.

But, no longer than nine months later Daryl saw Rick for the first time since they split up. He was wearing a deputy uniform and for a split-second Daryl was happy for him, the man had finally got his dream job. But when a heavily pregnant woman walked over to Rick and pulled him into a kiss, Daryl felt like he was going to be sick.

He stared at the two of them across the street for a few seconds in complete shock until Rick spotted him with a surprised and almost guilty expression, but Daryl had walked away before he could see or hear anything else. The man had no right to feel guilty, they broke up nine months ago which was fair enough for Rick to move on after all this time. But he clearly moved on a lot quicker than Daryl had thought since the woman seemed to be heavily pregnant, meaning he would have hooked up with her only days, weeks after they ended things and for some reason that had hurt Daryl more than he would ever admit.

Since then Daryl had never stepped foot inside that town, he didn't know why he was so hurt seeing Rick with that woman, he thought he had moved on from the man. But even now as Rick stood before him in front of his trailer, Daryl quickly realised he never moved on from Rick, he couldn't, even if the other man did years ago.

Daryl wasn't stupid, he knew Rick now worked at Jurassic World as well. In fact, Rick had been working there for nearly three years as the newly appointed Operations Manager, but Daryl had managed to stay clear of him. They worked in different areas, while Daryl was mainly outside with the animals, Rick was inside near all the computers and resort areas.

He knew it was only a matter of time before the two of them eventually crossed paths again, but Daryl was hoping it wouldn't be this soon.

"Mr. Dixon, I need you to come take a look at something." Rick called, walking over to him as Daryl continued wiping the engine of his motorcycle with a rag, not knowing what else to do. Mr Dixon? Since when had Rick ever called him that?

"Why are ya calling me that?" He questioned glancing over at Rick, the man had definitely aged well and was wearing a dark green button-down shirt tucked into a pair of clearly expensive jeans. Daryl had to look away, the man was more attractive than he remembered.

"Daryl." Rick corrected himself before continuing. "If you're not too busy."

"I'm pretty busy." Daryl muttered, taking a drink from his bottle of coke on the ground before he stood up from the bucket he was sitting on and walked over to his work bench underneath the veranda as he threw the rag on the wooden bench.

"We have an attraction. A new species we've made." Rick began explaining before Daryl cut him off.

"Ya just went and made a new dinosaur?"

"Yeah, it's kinda what we do here. The exhibit opens to the public in three weeks. Mr. Greene wanted me to consult with you." Rick informed, watching as Daryl turned around to face Rick properly for the first time and Rick's jaw nearly dropped. How was that even possible? Nobody should look that good in a sleeveless black shirt and leather vest with dirt and grease over their arms. Those arms, Daryl had definitely been working out a lot more since he last saw him. Although that was nearly 13 years ago, a lot has definitely changed.

Rick continued to stare at Daryl for a few seconds before he even realised he was doing it as he cleared his throat, "We would like you to evaluate the paddock for vulnerabilities."

"After all this time, why did ya come to me? Why not someone else? Hell, Aaron could easily do it." Daryl questioned as he took a few steps towards the other man. It's been 13 years and the first thing Rick talks to him about is about a job, was he just going to pretend that nothing had happened between them in the past?

"Mr. Greene wanted-" Rick began answering as Daryl shook his head.

"Ya always do what your bosses want don't ya? Even if it ain't none of their damn business." Daryl snapped, throwing his hands in the air in frustration and suddenly Rick realised what Daryl was referring to. His old boss at the academy who advised him about breaking off their relationship. And as naïve and stupid as Rick was, he did it. Was Daryl really still caught up about that?

"That was 13 years ago, I was young and stupid for listening to my boss when he told me to end things between us. I know it was a mistake, I felt awful for doing it and I regretted it-"

"Yeah, ya definitely felt bad. Especially when ya knocked that chick up straight after." Daryl muttered, suddenly wanting to be anywhere else right now.

"That's not fair. I didn't do it on purpose. I was angry and upset after we split up and I hooked up with her to try forget about you." Rick admitted, not knowing what else to say. He never realised or even thought that Daryl would still be annoyed by this. It was a life time ago, but he supposed he never actually forgot about Daryl, so maybe Daryl never forgot about him either.

"How'd that work out for ya?" Daryl asked, but Rick knew it was a rhetorical question.

"Okay, okay. Can we just focus on the asset, please?"

"The 'asset'? Look I get it. You're in charge out here, ya gotta make a lot of tough decisions, it's probably easier to pretend these animals are just numbers on a spreadsheet. But they ain't. They're alive." Daryl replied, his tone now softer as he looked at Rick.

"I am fully aware they're alive. Look are you gonna help or not? I know we have history, but can we just be professional and do our jobs?" Rick asked and for a few seconds Daryl didn't respond as he contemplated what to do, but Rick was right.

"Alright." Was all Daryl said as he grabbed his crossbow from his work bench, slinging it over his shoulder as he followed Rick to his car. He always carried his crossbow around with him, the bolts were laced with tranquilizers in case of emergencies. One bolt could put down almost any dinosaur, but it didn't hurt them, it just put them to sleep. Daryl could never hurt one of those beautiful creatures, yes, he grew up hunting in the woods with a crossbow, but that was different.

The car ride was silent and awkward to say the least. Neither of them spoke, not knowing what to say to the other person and Daryl was relieved when he saw the walls of the Indominus' enclosure come into view.

Rick talked about the Indominus Rex as the two of them got out the car, saying something about the park needing a new attraction every few years or something, but Daryl was more focused on the large cement walls surrounding the enclosure. How big was this dinosaur? He thought to himself before following Rick through a door which lead to the observation room.

"What's this thing made of?" Daryl asked cautiously, not 100 percent sure he actually wanted to know the answer as he walked towards one of the large glass windows taking in the dense jungle that made up the dinosaurs enclosure.

"The base genome is a T-Rex, the rest is... classified." Rick answered causing Daryl to glance over at him in confusion.

"Ya made a new dinosaur but ya don't even know what it is?"

"The lab delivers us new assets and we show them to the public. Can we drop a steer?" Rick asked looking behind Daryl towards the Supervisor who was sitting on a chair eating his lunch.

"How long has this animal been in here?" Daryl asked after a few seconds as his eyes scanned the jungle unable to spot it.

"All its life."

"Never seen anythin' outside of these walls?" Daryl questioned, not liking any of Ricks answers so far.

"We can't exactly walk it." Rick responded as they watched a large crane lower down a hook of meat into the middle of the enclosure causing Daryl to frown even more. That was how they fed it?

"There a problem?" Rick asked, noticing Daryl's expression.

"Animals raised in isolation ain't always the most functional."

"Your raptors are born in captivity." Rick responded.

"With siblings. They learn social skills and I imprint on 'em when they're born. There's trust. The only positive relationship this animal has is with that crane. At least she knows that means food." Daryl responded pointing towards the meat, but something didn't feel right about any of this and he didn't know why.

Rick didn't say anything further as the two of them stared at the hanging meat, but after a few minutes it became clear that something was very wrong.

"Where is it? It was just here. Hershel was just here looking at it." Rick commented, worry evident in his voice as he walked over one of the thermal imaging consoles and activated it. Daryl walked around to another window trying to get a better view of the jungle and he froze when he saw the claw marks on the inside of the wall. Shit.

"Were those claw marks always there?" He questioned glancing over his shoulder towards Rick and he knew by the expression on the mans face that the thermal readings came up negative.

"You think it...?" Rick trailed off as realisation hit him. The dinosaur had climbed out. "Oh God. She has an implant in her back! I can track it from the control room." Rick quickly said as Daryl watched him race out the door, leaving him and the Supervisor standing there not knowing what to do. The dinosaur had climbed out the damn enclosure and although it's not the first time a dinosaur has done that, this wasn't a normal dinosaur.

"C'mon, we gotta check it out." Daryl muttered motioning towards the clawed walls as he glanced over his shoulder at the Supervisor who seemed sceptical about the idea, but just nodded and within minutes the two of them were walking through the jungle of the enclosure.

Daryl knew the Supervisor was nervous, hell, he was too. He had never seen this dinosaur, but at least he knew it wasn't inside the walls. There was another worker already standing by the claw marks of the wall, taking in the deep groves through the cement.

"That wall's forty feet high. You really think she could've climbed out?" The Supervisor questioned nervously.

"That depends." Daryl muttered as the three of them all stared up at wall looming over them.

"On what?"

"What kinda dinosaur they cooked up in that lab." Daryl answered as he rested his hand over the claw marks, feeling the groves with his fingers when the Supervisors walkie talkie went off.

"...area... Paddock 11... dock 11, do you copy...?" The voice called desperately into the radio and suddenly Daryl felt uneasy as he quickly turned around, glancing around the enclosure, not liking the tone of the woman on the radio.

"Yeah, what's the problem?"

"It's in the cage! It's in there with you!" The woman yelled. Daryl didn't have any time to properly process what she just said before his survival instincts kicked in and he sprung into action. The dinosaur was still in the enclosure. 

"Go!" He yelled as the three of them took off running, the Supervisor trailing behind unable to keep up with them, but before Daryl could glance over his shoulder towards the other man the Indominus appeared in front of them out the jungle with a terrifying roar.

They quickly skidded to a halt and began sprinting the other way, but when Daryl heard the worker behind him scream followed by a crunch he knew the Indominus had killed him.

He had no time to feel anything for the mans death as he ran for his life. He could see the Supervisor using his handprint ID on the large back door before it slowly began to open as the man rushed through before the doors began to close again.

"Shit." Daryl cursed under his breath, forcing his legs to move faster as he raced through the closing door and quickly slid underneath a large vehicle, laying on his stomach as he stared at the Indominus' feet which were on the outside of the cement walls. Shit, it must have busted through the door when it was closing.

He laid there frozen on his stomach as the dinosaur gradually stomped around the vehicle he was hiding under. Daryl moving his body slowly to keep an eye on the dinosaurs feet when he spotted the Supervisor sitting behind a work truck.

No, this couldn't be happening, Daryl thought to himself when suddenly the work vehicle got thrown into the air as he quickly covered his face as the truck came crashing down beside his vehicle, glass spraying everywhere. But as he looked back up he could see the man still sitting there frozen in place before the dinosaurs jaw snapped down, grabbing the man and lifting him out of view.

Daryl quickly covered his mouth with his hands forcing himself to not make a sound before he hastily pulled out his tactical knife, that he kept attached to his belt as he rolled over onto his back. His eyes quickly scanning the underneath of the vehicle above him before he spotted the fuel line as he desperately sliced away at the pipe until he cracked it, fuel pouring down over his stomach. Sheathing his knife back into his belt he began smearing the fuel all down his body trying to mask his scent while the dinosaur finished eating the Supervisor.

Within seconds the Indominus began approaching his vehicle and he instantly froze, lying on his back as he stared up at the cut fuel pipe praying to any God that was listening for help. He had never prayed before in his life, but that didn't really matter and suddenly he was glad that Rick had gone back to the control room. Rick was safe there. The man may have been a cop and could easily defend himself against a human, but Rick knew nothing about dealing with dinosaurs up close.

His thoughts were quickly cut off as he heard the animal get closer before the jaws of the Indominus inched closer beside the vehicle. He could see the bloodied teeth out the corner of his eye, he didn't even want to blink in case the animal somehow heard it, but if it was going to hear anything it would be his heart which was beating out of his chest right now.

The Indominus nudged the side of his vehicle slightly as he squeezed his eyes shut, sweat dripping down his forehead as he just waited for it, when suddenly the animal began walking off. He quickly opened his eyes, lifting his head as he watched the feet of the dinosaur walk off in the distance before he took a deep shaky breath, dropping his head back down on the ground as he sighed with relief. Holy shit.

 

***Meanwhile***

Rick had no idea how this happened. The asset didn't come up on the thermal scans, it wasn't inside the cage, but it actually was. How the hell did this happen? God, he didn't even know if Daryl was alive still... Shaking his head he forced himself not to think down that path as he ran his fingers through his hair nervously waiting for the elevator doors to open.

It felt like forever before the doors finally opened as he entered the control room and he frowned when he spotted a security guard standing by the door. He looked around the rest of the room, realising that everyone was already staring at him waiting for instructions. But he had no idea how to deal with this, something like this has never happened before and now he had to keep these people from panicking when in reality he was already panicking on the inside.

"Everyone remain calm." He finally spoke, taking a deep breath as he walked down the small stairs until he reached Glenn, who was one of the main computer tech guys. "The implant will shock it if it gets too close to a perimeter fence."

"Okay, it's moving really fast." Glenn observed as he stared at the large screen at the front of the room which showed a map of the island along with the location of the Indominus through her tracker.

"This is control, put out a park-wide alert-" Maggie began saying into her headset from her chair beside Glenn before her father, Hershel, cut her off.

"Hang up the phone, sweetheart." He ordered as Rick looked over at him, not even realising the owner was in the room.

"Sorry, I'm getting new information. Everything is fine." Maggie responded through the headset as they all stared at the owner waiting for him to explain.

"Let Asset Containment capture it quietly. The very existence of this park is predicated on our ability to handle incidents like this. It was an eventuality, okay?" Hershel stated as Rick rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"You should put that in the brochure. 'Eventually, one of these things will eat somebody.'" Glenn commented.

"That paddock is four miles from the closest attraction. ACU can handle this, no one else is gonna get..." Rick trailed off not wanting to finish that sentence as Glenn did for him.

"Eaten?" Oh God, he hoped Daryl was okay.

 


	3. Chapter 3

  
Once Daryl had gotten over the initial shock, horror and sadness of what had just occurred he started to think logically and realised that no way in hell that should have happened. That dinosaur couldn't have just disappeared and now workers were dead and the animal was on the loose. How the hell did they stuff up that badly?

He quickly took the nearest pickup truck and drove straight over to the control room, wanting answers. People were dead because of this and now the animal was on the loose.

10 minutes later he was walking through the elevator, quickly scanning the room noticing all the people sitting at computers along with others all standing at the back of the room staring at a large screen.

"I need to see a badge. Sir, I need to see a badge." The security guard insisted, but Daryl ignored him as he stormed straight past the man, spotting Rick a few metres away looking at the large screen.

"What the hell happened out there? There are thermal cameras all over that paddock. She did not just disappear!" Daryl yelled in sudden anger as he shrugged off the security guards grip who tried grabbing his shoulders.

"It must have been some kind of a technical malfunction." Rick tried saying, but Daryl shook his head.

"Were ya not watchin'? She marked up that wall as distraction. She wanted us to think she escaped!"

"Hold on. We are talking about an animal here." Rick responded as Daryl walked over to him, anger boiling inside of him.

"A highly intelligent animal." He snapped, but before he could say anything further someone else started talking.

"400 metres to the beacon." Maggie informed, glancing over her shoulder towards the two of them before turning back to the large screen as Daryl followed her line of sight in confusion. There were multiple profiles of ACU men on the screen along with their body cameras playing back live footage.

"You're goin' after her with non-lethals?" He questioned in shock. He might hate hurting and killing dinosaurs, but this was no ordinary dinosaur and it had already killed two people, it has a taste for blood.

"We have 26 million invested in that asset. We can't just kill it." Hershel responded from the other side of the room.

"Those men are gonna die." Daryl muttered, not taking his eyes off the screen as Maggie continued calling out how far away the men were from the animal. "Ya need to call this mission off right now. Call it off right now!"

"You are not in control here!" Rick snapped, glaring over at Daryl before quickly looking back towards the screen. Daryl had to bite his tongue, knowing that if he continued talking then he might say or do something he'd regret. He focused back on the screen at the body camera footage as one of the men picked up a piece of flesh from the dinosaur which had her tracking implant in it. Shit.

"What's that?" Hershel questioned.

"That's her tracking implant. She clawed it out." Daryl answered, not taking his eyes off the screen before Rick spoke up.

"How would it know to do that?"

"She remembered where they put it in." He simply answered as they all continued watching the footage before the Indominus suddenly walked out from behind a bunch of trees. It can camouflage. Of course it could fucking camouflage, Daryl thought as one after the other all the heart beats beside the peoples profiles flatlined as the dinosaur teared them apart. They never stood a chance.

"Evacuate the island." Daryl instructed, turning to look at Rick who was absolutely terrified.

"We'd never reopen." Rick replied, causing Daryl to shake his head in frustration. That was not a concern right now, there are thousands of people, civilians on this island and that animal was on the loose. Rick used to be a cop for God's sake, surely he knew what the priority was right now.

"Ya made a genetic hybrid, raised it in captivity. She is seein' all of this for the first time. She'll kill anythin' that moves." Daryl responded pointing towards the screen as he paced the room anxiously, unable to stand still.

"Do you think the animal is contemplating its own existence?" Hershel asked curiously.

"She's learnin' where she fits in the food chain and I'm not sure ya want her to figure it out. Now, Asset Containment can use live ammo in an emergency situation. Ya have an M134 in your armoury. Put it on a chopper and smoke this thing!" Daryl yelled, staring at Rick who looked way to calm for this situation which only angered Daryl more.

"We have families here! I'm not gonna turn this place into a war zone." Rick responded sternly.

"Ya already have." Daryl muttered in frustration.

"Mr. Dixon, if you're not gonna help, there's no reason for you to be in here." Rick stated and Daryl couldn't help the growl of frustration escape his lips as he glared at the man he once loved. Again with the Mr Dixon crap, Rick knew he didn't like being called that, it reminded him of his father and he was nothing like his father.

"The Rick I once knew wouldn't hesitate over the safety of these people and the future of the park. Who gives a shit if it doesn't reopen, like ya said there's families here!" Daryl yelled in frustration as he threw the dinosaur toys along Glenns work desk across the room in anger before he stormed off.

"Ya should have a word your people in the lab. That thing out there, that ain't a dinosaur." Daryl growled, staring at Hershel before he walked out the room.

"Okay. I'm going to close everything north of the resort. This is a Phase One, real world. Bring everyone in." Rick instructed, pretending that what Daryl just said didn't hurt as he glanced over at Maggie who nodded and repeated what he just said through her headset.

-

Daryl barely made it down the lobby before another security guard stopped him as the two of them began arguing before he caught sight of Rick walking out the elevator.

"Rick." He called, wanting to get away from the guard before he did something which would probably get him fired.

"I need you." Rick quickly responded, catching Daryl off guard at the sudden unexpected comment, especially after what he had just said to Rick a few minutes ago. "I need your help. My son, he's out in the Valley. Please, if anything happens to him-" Rick began rambling worriedly before Daryl cut him off.

"How old?" He asked, although he could probably already guess the age, figuring it was the boy the woman was pregnant with 13 years ago.

"Carl's 13, Enid is... She's..." Rick trailed off, having no idea how old the young girl actually was.

"Ya don't know how old your daughter is?" Daryl asked in shock, but Rick quickly shook his head.

"She's not my daughter. I only just met her this morning, she's Carl best friend, they both came here together, but I'm responsible for her and if anything happens to either of them-"

"Nothin' is gonna happen. C'mon." Daryl responded as they ran out the lobby, towards the work vehicle that Daryl had stolen earlier before they began driving off in the direction of the enclosure that the kids were in last.

They were driving for nearly 10 minutes in silence. Rick silently panicking beside him; but Daryl had no idea how to make the man feel better. He didn't know if the kids were alive or dead, but like hell he was going to say that to Rick.

They drove for another few minutes, now driving through a grassy paddock which was home to a few breeds of herbivores so Daryl knew that they wouldn't be bother them.

"Look, Rick I-" Daryl began to say before he quickly slammed on the breaks as he spotted a large Apatosaurus fatally injured on the ground in front of them. Holy shit.

"Stay in the car." He muttered, grabbing his crossbow from the back seat as he made his way towards the gentle giant. He knelt down beside its head as he softly touched the dinosaur, taking in all the claw marks over its dying body. "I know, I know. It's alright, girl." Daryl said quietly as he soothed the animal which was clearly in pain.

Rick walked over to them, his eyes wide with shock as he stared at the large animal before he focused on Daryl who was crouched down beside the dinosaurs head, talking quietly and comforting the poor animal as it dies. Rick couldn't really see Daryl's face through his long hair, but he could tell the other man was saddened by this. Rick could always read Daryl like a book back then and somethings never changed. Daryl might seem like a rough guy, but deep down he was soft and caring and that was one of the reasons why Rick fell in love with him.

As the animal took her last breath, Daryl stood up visibly affected by the creautres death despite trying to hide it before he turned around and Rick followed his line of sight and he gasped in shock. The rest of the Apatosaurus' all lying dead over the flat grassy terrain, claw marks covering their bodies.

"It didn't eat 'em. It's killin' for sport." Daryl commented, taking in the scene before they quickly got back into the vehicle to find the kids.

-

Shit. Daryl wanted to say, but he didn't want to panic or upset Rick as he slowed the vehicle down when he spotted a destroyed glass sphere which he knew visitors rode. He barely managed to stop the car before Rick was already opening his door.

"No, no, no." Rick whispered, his voice thick with emotion as he picked up Carl's now smashed phone from the ground, while Daryl quickly scanned the area trying to find any sign that the kids were still alive and he sighed with relief spotting two sets of tracks through the mud.

"Hey. They made it out." Daryl informed, pointing towards the footsteps in the mud and he could see Rick relax slightly with that information, although with the Indominus out there, they needed to find the kids quickly. "C'mon, we can track 'em." Daryl said motioning for Rick to follow him as he followed the tracks through the dense jungle.

"Guess your hunting skills can come in handy still." Rick commented after a few minutes of walking. If Rick was being honest he had no idea what tracks Daryl was following, once the mud had disappeared Rick couldn't see any footsteps or anything, but if there was one thing he knew about Daryl it was the man knew how to hunt and track.

"Mmm." Daryl hummed in agreement and Rick rolled his eyes. Daryl was never much of a talker even when the two of them were together, unless you could get him talking about animals or hunting the man was as quiet as a mouse. "How long ya been out the force?" Daryl asked after a few minutes of silence, surprising Rick with sudden unexpected question.

"Few years, just couldn't do it anymore. My partner, Shane started dating my ex-wife and everything just got too complicated and somehow I managed to get this job." Rick answered, not expecting to say all of that, but once he started talking it just came out.

Daryl just nodded, not saying anything further and Rick mentally facepalmed knowing he shouldn't have said all that, knowing for sure that he had scared Daryl away.

Neither of them spoke again after that until they reached the top of a large waterfall, which was were the tracks ended and Rick's eyes went wide with shock. "My God, they jumped."

"Brave kids." Daryl commented, adjusting the strap to his crossbow over his shoulder.

"Carl! Enid!" Rick suddenly shouted causing Daryl to quickly turn to him, holding his hand towards his mouth to hush him.

"Hey! I am not one of your damn animals." Rick snapped and Daryl rolled his eyes.

"Listen, those kids are still alive, but we won't be if ya keep yellin' like that." Daryl stated in a quiet voice, his eyes locked with Ricks and for a second he almost forgot about the world around him as he stared into Ricks deep blue eyes.

"So, what should we do? What do you suggest we do?" Rick asked, making sure he kept his voice low as he stared at Daryl desperately for help.

"You get back. I'll find 'em."

"No, _we'll_ find them." Rick argued, not liking the idea of Daryl going off into those woods alone when the Indominus was out there somewhere.

"You'll last two minutes out there." Daryl responded motioning towards the tree line of the woods behind him, but Rick just shook his head.

"I used to be a cop, I think I can handle it."

"Alright, just like takin' a stroll through the woods... 65 million years ago." Daryl muttered, taking his crossbow off his shoulders, holding the weapon in his hands as the two of them walked back into the jungle. He wasn't sure how much damage his tranquilizer bolts would do to the Indominus, they hardly affected the T-Rex, so he doubted it would do anything, but he still felt safer with the bow in his hands.

They walked in silence for a few minutes, but Daryl wasn't complaining. He liked silence and Rick didn't seem on the verge of a panic attack anymore now that he knew the kids had made it out, so Daryl took that as a win.

"Heard about your father passing away years ago, I'm sorry." Rick suddenly said as they tracked further into the woods and Daryl was glad that he was walking a few metres in front of Rick so the man couldn't see his surprises expression. It's been years since he last heard someone talk about his father out loud, he honestly thought everyone had forgotten about the older Dixon, but Daryl hadn't. He couldn't. The old bastard had scarred him both physically and emotionally and not a day goes by where he doesn't think about it.

"I ain't." Daryl muttered, not knowing what else to say. Rick knew about the scars, he knew that his old man was a drunk, but he didn't expect Rick to know that the man had died.

"I figured, but he was still your father." Rick replied, but Daryl didn't bother responding to that as he just nodded silently before Rick sighed from behind him. "What's Merle doing these days?"

"Jail. The hell's with all these questions? Don't pretend that ya suddenly care 'bout me, I ain't nothin' but a damn redneck to ya." Daryl suddenly snapped as he stopped walking and turned to face Rick who nearly walked straight into him, not realising he had stopped walking.

"It's not like that, I do care about you-" Rick began to say, but Daryl shook his head not wanting to hear any of the man's excuses.

"If ya cared ya wouldn't have left after one small comment from your boss." Daryl muttered, glaring at Rick for a few seconds before he continued walking.

"I fucked up, Daryl. I fucked up. What else do you want me to say? It was 13 years ago, we both moved on. I had a kid, got married, got divorced, quit the police force, its life. Shit happens, but people move on." Rick responded but as soon as he said it he knew it was the wrong thing to say as Daryl spun around towards him and if looks could kill Rick would be dead right now.

"Shit happens? Really? Ya know what, man? Fuck you. It ain't so easy for some people to move on. I never had nothin' good my entire life till ya came along, ya unlocked somethin' in me, man... and when ya left..." Daryl trailed off, hating the fact that he felt like he could start crying. He didn't dare look up at Rick, not wanting the other man to see the tears that were no doubt clear in his eyes as he turned away and continued walking.

"Daryl, wait." Rick called, his voice suddenly soft as he jogged after the man and grabbed Daryl's shoulder gently. "I didn't know you felt like that."

"Don't matter. Like ya said it was 13 years ago. Now, let's focus on gettin' the kids." Daryl replied, shrugging Ricks hand from his shoulder as the two of them began walking again.

-

Daryl wasn't sure how long they had been walking through the jungle before the distinct sound of a car engine filled his ears. He froze listening to the noise realising the vehicle was driving in the opposite direction.

He glanced over at Rick who seemed to have a hint of hope souring through his body as the two of them quickly began running towards where the noise had originally came from to find a small garage in the middle of the woods.

With his crossbow still in his hands he jogged into the open roller door of the garage spotting one old rusty jeep, but what caught his attention was the fresh set of tyre marks beside it along with a jacket on the ground.

"This one of theirs?" He asked, kneeling down and holding the jacket up so Rick could see.

"Yeah. That road goes straight back to the park." Rick answered as Daryl nodded, satisfied that the kids would make it back to the park themselves as he walking over to the rusty old jeep. He meant in through the open window and turned the key in the ignition, but nothing happened.

"How'd they even get one of these things started?" Daryl questioned out loud as he walked over to the long work bench in front of the jeep, trying to find anything that looked useful. He turned back towards the jeep about to open the bonnet of the vehicle when suddenly the ground began to rumble as thudding footsteps filled the air. Shit.

They both instantly froze as Rick quickly walked over to him and grabbed his shoulder as he stood behind Daryl. The two of them stood behind the front of the jeep staring out through the open roller door of the garage. Usually Daryl would have shrugged off or pushed Rick back if he touched him, but right then he did not care and almost welcome the warm feeling of the other mans hand on his shoulder. He knew Rick was scared, Rick had probably never dealt with dinosaurs up close, but Daryl had and he was still scared.

As the footsteps got closer they quickly ducked down in front of the jeep, their backs pressed against the front of the vehicle. Daryl careful looked around the side of the car, spotting his crossbow leaning up against the drivers side door. Why the hell did he leave it there? He didn't even remember putting it down in the first place.

But just as he was about to move to grab it the dinosaurs foot suddenly landed right by the entrance of the garage causing Daryl to quickly sit back beside Rick. Their shoulders toughing as he put his finger over his lips trying to tell Rick not to make sound as the other man nodded.

Daryl didn't dare turn his head, he could feel the Indominus' breath and he knew what he'd see if he turned around. So, he kept his eyes on Rick who now had his eyes squeezed shut, sweat dripping down the side of his face and Daryl could see he was shaking, God he probably was right now too.

Neither of them dared to even breath as the dinosaur pumped the side of the Jeep a couple of times with its face before it seemed to give up as it began walking away from the garage.

Daryl quickly turned to his left, looking out from behind the Jeep. He couldn't see the animal, but he could still hear it as he slowly crawled, reaching for his weapon before he quickly ducked back behind the car where Rick was still sitting.

He gave Rick a small nod to tell him that dinosaur seemed to have wandered off. They both let out a sigh of relief when suddenly the left side of the garage roof came crashing down as the Indominus growled, its jaws snapping as it tried to reach them through the roof.

They both ducked as debris from the roof came flying down before the two of them took off sprinting in the other direction out the garage. Out of nowhere a helicopter flew past them above the tree line heading in the other direction as the Indominus began following it. Shit.

Daryl glanced over at Rick with a questioning look as Rick nodded and they both began running in the same direction. Their personal conversations earlier now completely forgotten as they both flicked into survival mode.

"Glenn, we found her. South of the Gyrosphere Valley, between the old park and the Aviary." Rick shouted through his phone as Daryl slowed his pace down to a slow jog, knowing Rick would run out of breath if he was sprinting and talking at the same time.

"Wait, are you following the dinosaur?" Glenn's voice responded in confusion.

"Yes. Get ACU out here. Real guns this time." Rick instructed as he hung up the phone before the two of them continued running faster through the jungle until the reached the end of the tree line on top of a large cliff. They could see the huge glass dome of the aviary, along with the helicopter flying towards it.

"No." Rick whispered in sheer disbelief, watching as the Indominus broke through the glass letting all the pterodactyls out as they instantly went straight for the helicopter. The helicopter crew stood no chance against the reptilian birds as the helicopter crashed into the aviary, followed by a loud explosion.

"Umm Daryl?" Rick called, watching as the flying dinosaurs began heading in their direction. Oh, shit.

"Trees, get to the tree! Go!" Daryl yelled as the two of them sprinted for the tree line.

Daryl glanced over his shoulder just in time, spotting one of the animals swooping down towards them as he quickly grabbed Rick pushing the other man down onto the ground in the tall grass as the pterodactyls flew straight over them.

"We need to get back to the resort and find the kids." Rick said between breaths and Daryl nodded. Neither of them had to say anything further as they both took off running.

-

When they finally reached the outside of the main resort, workers were running around like crazy not knowing what to do as the pterodactyls flew around above everyone. Rick had gotten a call from Tara earlier telling him that the kids were at the resort, so they needed to get into the resort pronto.

"Rick, c'mon!" Daryl shouted above all the people screaming and shouting as he slung his crossbow over his shoulder and grabbed a scoped rifle from another worker as they ran with the ACU team into the resort.

Tourists were screaming and running for cover while the pterodactyls were swooping at all of them. Daryl had no idea what Rick's son or the girl looked like so he focused on firing at the flying dinosaurs with the ACU team, letting Rick try scan the area for the kids.

But, when Daryl saw two young teenagers sprinting away from a pterodactyls, the boy shouting for his father and the girl shouting for a man named Rick, he knew it was them.

"No! Hold your fi-" Daryl began shouting before something hit him in the back, giving him little to no time to brace himself as he hit the cement hard, dropping the gun. He quickly flipped over onto his back as he grabbed the pterodactyls neck, holding the animal away from him as its beak snapped inches away from his face.

He could feel one of its claws ripping through the flesh of his left shoulder as he groaned in pain before suddenly Rick appeared, slamming the butt of the gun against the animal as it fell off him, giving Rick a clear shot as he pulled the trigger, killing it instantly.

It took Daryl a few seconds to process what the hell just happened as he stared up at Rick in a daze before the other man held his hand out and Daryl took it, letting Rick help him up.

"You're hurt." Rick quickly said taking a step closer to him as his hand brushed over the blood trickling down his shoulder, but Daryl knew it wasn't as bad as it looked.

"Just a scratch. I'm fine." Daryl responded only just realising how close the two of them were standing as Ricks eyes flashed down to his lips before locking with his eyes as he slowly tilted his head towards him, giving Daryl a chance to pull away, but he didn't as their lips crashed together. Daryl's hand instantly cupping the back of Ricks neck as he returned the kiss before they pulled away, both gasping for air as Rick glanced over Daryl's shoulder spotting Carl and Enid watching them.

"It's them! Carl! Enid!" Rick called, rushing over to the two of them as he grabbed Carls shoulders taking in all the dirt over the boys face as he glanced over at Enid who matched. "Thank God! Thank God! I was so worried about you." Rick said as he pulled Carl into a hug as he held his left arm out towards Enid who smiled shyly but joined the hug.

"Who's that?" Carl asked pulling away as he nodded towards Daryl who was walking over to the two of them, now holding the scoped rifle.

"We work together." Rick answered, not knowing how to answer that question. "Where's Tara?"

"She took us inside to safety before she went back out and joined ACU to try take down the animals. Your assistant is a badass, dad." Carl answered with a grin and Rick sighed with relief knowing Tara was okay with the other workers.

"Hey, we gotta go." Daryl suddenly said from behind him, snapping Rick out of his thoughts as he nodded.

"Okay. Come on." Rick said grabbing both the kids shoulders as he walked them towards Daryl before he pulled his phone out and dialled Glenn's number. "Glenn, I'm on my way back to you."

"That's a bad idea. The board assigned emergency ops to InGen's private security division. This guy Negan is in charge. And he has this insane plan to use the Raptors to hunt the Indominus." Glenn responded in a hushed voice.

"What do you mean 'use the Raptors'?" Rick questioned and he could have sworn he actually heard Daryl growl from beside him.

"Son of a bitch! Take the kids, get 'em someplace safe." Daryl instructed when suddenly the large door behind them that separated all the tourists from the workers area busted open as hundreds of people began running through. Shit. "Get in!" He yelled rushing over to the nearest four wheel drive vehicle as they all climbed in before he slammed the gear stick in reverse as he hit the accelerator.

"Drive! Go faster!" Carl and Enid shouted from the backseat as he quickly turned the steering wheel attempting to turn the car around as all the tourists suddenly sprint past, blocking his path. There was no way he'd be able to get out until the crowd past. Shit.

"This does not feel safe." Enid commented as they all stared at the screaming tourists running past the vehicle.

"You're still bleeding." Rick stated staring at the blood slowly trickling down Daryl's arm from his shoulder. "There's gotta be something in this vehicle to use."

"I've had worse." Daryl muttered, clearly not fazed by the wound. Rick knew Daryl has had worse, he had seen the scars that were across Daryl's back and chest. He asked Daryl what had happened when they were together, but he didn't want to talk about it and simply said 'my father was an alcoholic bastard' and that was enough of an explanation. During his time in the police force Rick knew all too well about child abuse and he was damn relieved to later find out that Daryl's old man had died from alcohol poisoning.

"This'll have to do." Rick stated, finding a red rag in the glove department of the car before he began wrapping and tying it around Daryl's shoulder to try stop the bleeding.

"Can we stay with you?" Carl questioned leaning forward from the back seat once his father had finished.

"I am never leaving you as long as you live." Rick responded glancing over at the two kids before turning back to all the people running past the car.

"No, him." Carl corrected pointing towards Daryl as Enid nodded in agreement.

"Definitely him."

 


	4. Chapter 4

  
By the time they reached his raptor enclosure the moon had now replaced the sun in the sky, lights shinning around the enclosure exposing all of Negan's men walking around and setting stuff up. Daryl could feel his blood boiling as he slammed on the breaks and quickly got out the car as he marched towards Negan furiously.

"The mother hen has finally arrived!" Negan shouted noticing Daryl walking towards him, but before he could say anything further Daryl's hand balled into a fist as he punched the man in the jaw.

"Get the hell outta here 'n stay away from my animals." Daryl growled watching as Negan stumbled backwards grabbing his jaw painfully.

"Negan, you wanted this to happen, you son of a bitch!" Rick yelled as he stopped beside Daryl, both of them glaring at the other man.

"Oh, Jesus! How many more people have to die before this mission starts to make sense to you?" Negan questioned taking a step towards Daryl who held his ground as he stared at the man directly in front of him.

"It's not a mission. It's a field test." Aaron suddenly said angrily as he walked over to them.

"This is an InGen situation now. Okay, there are gonna be cruise ships that show up here at first light. Everybody's gonna get off this island. You're gonna watch a news story tomorrow about how you all saved lives. No, better yet, how your animals saved lives." Negan explained as Daryl glanced over at Aaron who shook his head.

"They've never been out of containment. It's crazy." Aaron responded.

"Lets move it out!" Negan yelled turning around to his men before focusing back on Daryl. "This is happening! With or without you." He stated as Daryl clenched his jaw, stopping himself from saying anything as he watched Negan walk off towards one of the rooms by the enclosures. What hell was he gonna do? This plan of using the raptors was crazy, but Negan was going to do it anyway.

After a quick discussion with Aaron and Rick they all agreed on helping with the mission, figuring it would be better to try help than watch them do it without them. Daryl explained how the plan was going to work, telling Negan's men that the raptors were pack hunters and how they hunted their prey and fiercely warned them not to shoot his raptors. Seriously, if they so much as get a scratch he's gonna be pissed.

-

"Easy, Blue. Attagirl. Ya don't scare me." Daryl said softly as he gently stroked the side of Blues head while she was contained in a specially designed holding area. He patted her gently, noticing the collar camera devise that Negan had put on each raptor, but there wasn't much he could do about it.

"Daryl. Are they safe?" Carl suddenly asked as he turned around to find the young boy and girl leaning against the metal bars of the fence, watching the raptors.

"No, they're not." Daryl responded, a hint of anger in voice as he shook his head.

"What are their names?" Enid asked curiously.

"Well, ya got Charlie. Echo. Delta 'n this one's called Blue. She's the beta." Daryl explained, pointing to each other raptors.

"Who's the alpha?" Carl asked.

"You're lookin' at him, kid." Daryl answered causing Carl to grin before Rick walked over to them, telling the kids to climb in the back of some supply truck where they would be safe while Daryl went back to his raptors.

"Hey, Daryl?" Ricks voice called a few minutes later as Daryl glanced over his shoulder to find Rick standing where Carl and Enid just were.

"Yeah?" Daryl replied, walking over to him on the other side of the fence. Rick didn't say anything for a few seconds as he looked down with a sigh, running his fingers through his curly locks.

"Just be careful, alright? I can't lose you again." Rick admitted, glancing back up towards Daryl who was biting his thumb nail causing Rick to smile softly, Daryl never kicked that habit.

"We're gonna have a lot to talk 'bout once all this over." Daryl responded and Rick nodded in agreement before he began walking back towards the supply truck where the kids were. They have a lot they need to talk about. "Hey, be safe!" Daryl called out.

"You too." Rick replied, glancing over his shoulder towards the man he had loved all those years ago before he climbed into the truck.

-

Daryl grabbed the flesh from the Indominus that she had ripped out with the tracker and held it in front of each raptor. He knew the raptors locked onto scent quickly, so this was their best shot.

Once he was sure the animals had the scent locked in he quickly jumped onto his motorcycle, glancing to his right as Aaron climbed onto a quad bike before he looked up at Patrick who was holding the button for his raptors doors and gave the young man a nod.

In an instant the four animals took off running as he, Aaron and the SUV full of Negan's men followed them through the jungle and Daryl was suddenly glad that it was a full moon, giving him somewhat of a visual on his raptors.

Pulling in the clutched he kicked the bike up a gear as he sped up to his animals so he was literally riding his motorcycle amongst them as they ran beside him and he couldn't help but smile slightly taking in the moment. He was riding his motorcycle beside his velociraptors. How many people could actually say that?

***Meanwhile***

Rick was sitting in the drivers seat of the supply truck watching Daryl through the raptors and Aarons body cameras on an iPad. He was nervous and worried sick that something was going to happen to the other man, but he did have to admit, watching Daryl was starting to bring up all his old feelings towards him.

"You're boyfriend's a badass." Carl commented as Rick glanced over his shoulder to find him and Enid watching the iPad through the small window that lead to the back of the truck and he couldn't help but chuckle with a nod. If only Daryl was his boyfriend.

-

"They're slowing down." Aaron shouted above the bikes engines as Daryl nodded.

"They got somethin'." He called through the radio on his collar as he slowed the bike down to a stop, holding his hand up to indicate for the others to stop too. He quickly jumped off his bike, slinging the scoped rifle off his shoulders and into his hands at the ready as the raptors all stopped and stared at something in the distance.

He followed Negan's men who all crouched down behind fallen logs and trees, their guns up when suddenly the Indominus appeared out of nowhere. Fucking camouflage.

She looked down at the four raptors in front of her and began making noises that imitated what a velociraptor made, almost as if she was speaking to them. What the hell?

"Something's wrong. They're communicating." Aaron whispered from beside him and suddenly realisation hit Daryl like a truck. Oh shit.

"I know why they wouldn't tell us what it's made of. That thing's part raptor." Daryl stated, watching as his raptors turned away from the Indominus and faced all of them. Shit, that ain't good.

"Engage!" One of Negan's men shouted as everyone began firing off rounds into the large dinosaur, but it was clear their bullets weren't even making a scratch before someone fired an RPG causing the animal to growl in pain, but it got up and ran off. 

"Watch ya six! Raptors got a new alpha." Daryl shouted as they all slowly began walking through the jungle in the direction the Indominus had gone. The butt of the gun pressed up against his shoulder as he scanned his surroundings through the scope. He could hear the Indominus growling in the distance so he knew she was long gone, but the raptors weren't. They were out here and he had bad feeling like he was being watched.

A few seconds later he could hear some of Negan's men in the background screaming and firing their weapons, confirming what Daryl had suspected; the raptors were now hunting them. As if on cue the tall grass to his left started moving and he quickly turned around, his gun raised as one of the raptors lifted her head up out the grass staring at him. Charlie.

He quickly lowered his weapon, knowing there was no way he'd be able to kill her even if it cost him his life. He hand raised her, he hand raised all of them, there was no way he'd kill them.

He watched her for a few seconds as she made a small growling noise, but he knew it wasn't a bad growl, she was trying to talk to him and Daryl sighed with relief. He had one raptor back.

"Char-" Daryl began to say when suddenly another RPG came flying in from the distance and he watched in horror as it exploded right beside her. The force of the explosion throwing him back a few metres as he landed on his back, knocking the wind out of him.

Gasping for air he quickly sat up looking towards the tall grass, but all he could see were flames from the explosion. They killed her. Charlie was gone. He could feel tears burning in his eyes as he growled in mixture of anger and sadness before he forced himself onto his feet and kept moving.

Suddenly, he could hear Aaron shouting, but he couldn't quite put together what he was saying until he picked up the word 'Blue' and Daryl's blood when cold as he sprinted towards his motorcycle. He jumped on the bike, quickly flicking the ignition on as he began revving the engine trying to get her attention before he turned the bike around and rode off, Blue quickly following him.

After a few minutes of riding through the jungle he finally reached the dirt road and he frowned spotting the truck Rick and the kids were in driving down the road. Shit, something must have happened if he was driving off.

He quickly sped the bike up and he sighed spotting the kids sitting in the back of the truck shouting his name happily as he drove down the side of the truck until he was level with the drivers side door.

"We gotta get indoors. Follow me!" Daryl shouted, glancing over at Rick who simply nodded before he over took the truck, leading Rick back towards the resort.

After driving for what felt like hours, but was probably only 10 minutes they finally reached the gates to the resort as he brought his bike to a stop. The whole area now completely abandon compared to earlier when workers and guests were running around like crazy.

Rick quickly jumped out the truck, grabbing Carl and Enid from the back as Daryl grabbed his gun from over his shoulders and lead them towards the main building.

"Control room. That way." Rick yelled pointing to the far end of the large room as they all sprinted through the empty building, but Rick quickly stopped as they passed the laboratory. "They evacuated the lab." He stated in pure confusion as they walked in taking in everything, it was all gone. Suddenly, a door to their left opened as Negan's men walked out, holding various boxes full of gear. "What are you doing?"

"I'm afraid that's above your pay grade, Rick." Negan suddenly said, stepping out the room as he walked over to them.

"Where's Eugene?" Rick questioned.

"Dr. Porter, he works for us."

"That's not a real dinosaur." Carl stated motioning towards one of the computers that had an image of the Indominus on the screen.

"No, it isn't kid. But somebody's gotta make sure this company has a future. Imagine, that one, a fraction of the size, deadly, intelligent, able to hide from the most advanced military technology. A living weapon unlike anything we've seen. You see... Millions of years of evolution, what did we learn? Nature is the gift that just-" Negan began explaining when suddenly Delta jumped through the door to left, growling and snarling at Negan.

Daryl quickly jumped back, holding his hands out to keep Rick and the kids behind him as he slowly took a few steps backwards, watching as Delta circled around Negan.

"Easy, boy. Easy. We're on the same side right? Right? I'm on your side." Negan said nervously, taking a few steps away from the raptor before his back the wall. He held his hand up in front of him as Delta's jaws snapped down around his arm.

"Go!" Daryl shouted above Negan's pained screams as he ushered Rick and the kids out the lab while Delta was distracted. They sprinted back through the large building, the same why they came in as Enid pushed open the front doors, but before they could even walk a few metres outside another raptor suddenly appeared in front of them. Blue.

Daryl quickly turned around, hoping they could go back inside, but Delta was already behind them as Echo appeared to their left, trapping them.

"That's how it is?" Daryl asked out loud as he tried to keep Rick and the kids behind him, but with the three raptors standing around them it was impossible for Daryl to put himself between all of them. He focused mainly on Blue who was standing in front of him, the other two standing either side of him.

Slowly he lowered his gun and dropped it down on the ground, his eyes never leaving Blue's the entire time as he raised his hand towards her.

"Easy. Easy." He said softly as Blue growled in a friendly tone watching him as unclipped the collar around her head. "That's it." He whispered, unable to hide the small smile on his face, realising that he had Blue back.

Suddenly, the loud roar of the Indominus ripped through the cool night air causing Blue to quickly turn around as she appeared from behind a building. Crap.

Daryl instinctively held his hand back trying to get Rick and the kids behind him as the Indominus began talking to his raptors, but Blue turned back to him. For a second Daryl thought she was going to attack, but she growled happily and Daryl grinned realising that he was still Blue's alpha as she turned back to the Indominus and roared angrily at the larger dinosaur.

The Indominus roared back as it clawed at Blue, throwing her into the side of the building with a loud thud. Daryl watched in shock as Blue laid motionless on the ground and his heart stopped for a second before Delta and Echo suddenly growled bringing his attention back to the others.

He glanced over at his other two raptors, realising that they weren't growling at him, they were growling at the Indominus and he quickly whistled as they both attacked, running towards the larger dinosaur.

He watched for a second as the raptors jumped and began attacking the Indominus' neck before he quickly turned around to Rick to find him frozen in shock and staring at the dinosaurs. He grabbed the mans shoulder snapping him out of it as he yelled at them to all run for cover.

He made sure Rick and the kids were running in front of as they sprinted past the dinosaurs fighting, but as they all jumped into some kind of kiosk for safety, Daryl turned back towards the Indominus in the middle of the street and began firing his rifle at the animal, not wanting to leave Delta and Echo alone.

Firing shot, after shot, after shot until his clip ran out, he cursed under his breath and quickly ducked for cover behind some statue as he began reloading the weapon. He knew the bullets were barely piercing through the dinosaurs thick skin, but he didn't know what else to do. What the hell was he meant to do?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took so long, but I hope you all enjoyed it. 
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you so much for reading, the next chapter should be up soon. Until next time, stay safe everyone and have a great day xx


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter.   
> I am sorry it has taken this long to finish, but life has been so hectic lately and I haven't had much time to write.

  
"24, 50. We need more." Carl informed as he counted with his fingers before turning to his father in front of him as him and Enid sat with their backs against the wall of the kiosk while Rick peaked out over the top of the bar in the kiosk, watching the dinosaurs and Daryl fight. He hated how close the other man was to the dinosaurs, but he had to remind himself that Daryl was a grown man and knew more about these creatures than anyone else did. He could take care of himself, but that still didn't stop Rick from worrying.

"More what?" Rick questioned, glancing over his shoulder towards his son who had his arm wrapped around Enid, both of them completely terrified.

"Teeth. We need more teeth." Carl answered as Rick stared at his son in confusion before it suddenly clicked. More teeth... The T-Rex, they needed the T-Rex.

"I got an idea. You two stay right here, do not move. It's gonna be fine." Rick said, grabbing the hand held radio from the side of the bar along with a flare from the first aid kit on the wall as the two kids nodded before he jumped over the bar and took off down the street.

*

Pulling the leaver back Daryl cocked the gun about to continue firing when he spotted Rick running off in the other direction. Where the hell is he going? Rick wouldn't leave the kids, unless he absolutely had to, but what was he doing? Before Daryl could do anything about it, the Indominus grabbed Echo between it's jaws and threw her into a different kiosk as it erupted in flames, killing her instantly.

Anger flashed over him, watching as another one of his raptors got killed before he turned back to the monster and continued firing. He only got off another two shots before the Indominus turned her attention to him, her tail slamming into the statue in front of him as he quickly jumped out the way and ran towards the kiosk where the kids were hiding.

He jumped clean over the bar of the kiosk, dropping into a crouch right in front of Carl and Enid as he bought his fingers to his lips and they both nodded, knowing to be quiet.

He slowly began turning his head, hoping that Delta was still fighting the Indominus, but when he saw the large head of the Indominus staring right at them through the front of the kiosk, he knew Delta was gone too.

His eyes locked with the large animals for a split second before it's jaws opened, exposing its thick, bloodied teeth as it slammed its head against the front of the kiosk trying to get to them. Daryl quickly jumped back in front of the two kids, his arms around Carl and Enid's bodies as he tried to push them behind him and away from the Indominus' snapping jaws.

The Indominus' claws suddenly busted through the side wall, barely missing them by an inch and he wasn't sure if it was Enid or Carl or, hell, maybe him who was screaming, but someone definitely was as one of the animals claws hooked into Carls belt.

Daryl quickly grabbed the boys body, using all his strength to hold Carl back as the Indominus tried pulling him away before Enid quickly unclipped his belt as Daryl pushed both the kids behind him again. All of them breathing heavily in terror as Daryl scanned the room, trying to find something, anything to use to try and distract the animal for at least a few seconds so the kids could get out.

*

"Glenn, are you still there?" Rick called through the radio as he continued running towards the T-Rex's enclosure.

"Hey, where are you?" Glenn's voice responded and Rick sighed with relief that the man was still in the control room.

"I need you to open Paddock 9." Rick ordered as he finally reached the enclosure as he stared up at the tall cement door.

"Paddock 9? You kidding?"

"Damn it, Glenn, just do it!" Rick yelled into the radio, glancing to where he had just came from as the roars of the Indominus filled the air. He had to do this, it was the only chance they had at getting out of here alive.

As the door began opening, he pulled out the flare from his back pocket, lighting it as he held it out to the side. His hands were shaking as he stared into the now open enclosure of the T-Rex. It took a few seconds, but before he knew it the large dinosaur was walking towards him, its eyes glued to the red flare in Ricks hands as he took off running back to where the Indominus was as the T-Rex chased him.

He had never ran so fast in his entire life, suddenly grateful for all the fitness and running he had to do as police officer back in the day as he ran into the main street, spotting the Indominus trying to get into the kiosk as he threw the flare at it.

He didn't wait to see what happened next as he ducked for cover as the two large predators began fighting. His eyes locked with Daryl's, spotting the man looking over the bar in the kiosk in shock as the T-Rex began stumbling towards the kiosk as the Indominus continuously chomped into its neck.

"Run!" Rick screamed, knowing exactly what was going to happen next as he watched Daryl quickly help his son and Enid over the bar of the kiosk as they all sprinted towards him on the other side of the street as the T-Rex collapsed on top of the kiosk, crushing it instantly.

"Go! Go!" Daryl yelled running behind the kids as they ducked behind a huge rock statue where Rick was hiding behind before they all peaked out over the top and watched the Indominus take the T-Rex down, one more bite of its jaw and it was all over.

"No." Daryl whispered, watching as the Indominus rested one of its feet against the T-Rex's neck getting ready to finish it off when out of nowhere a familiar raptor growl filled the air as Blue came running around the corner. Sudden relief washed over Daryl, realising that his girl was still alive, but that relief didn't last long as she jump onto the back of the Indominus, distracting it just long enough for the T-Rex to stand back up and continue fighting.

Neither of them moved as they watched the two animals fight, Blue joining in occasionally as she jumped onto the back of the Indominus, biting and clawing at the larger animal. But, just as quick as it all started, the fighting quickly ended as the T-Rex chomped down on the Indominus' neck, throwing her into the glass fence that surrounded the water enclosure. The Indominus forced herself back to her feet, about to charge at the T-Rex and Blue when suddenly the Mosasaurs jumped out the water, crunching down on the Indominus' neck as it pulled the dinosaur into the water to eat.

"Holy shit." Rick whispered, his hand on Daryl's shoulder who was still standing in front of all of them and Rick smiled slightly, knowing Daryl was doing that protectively.

The T-Rex slowly turned away from the water, seeming satisfied that the other dinosaur was dealt with as he brought his attention back to Blue who was standing a few metres away. Somehow Daryl's heartbeat increased even more as he watched the T-Rex in panic, but after a few seconds the larger dinosaur turned away from the raptor and began walking off back towards the jungle.

Once the T-Rex was far enough away for his liking, Daryl bought his attention back to Blue and took a few steps towards her as she turned around to face him. He could see the questioning look Blue was giving him as Daryl slowly shook his head, never breaking eye contact before she growled happily and took off running down the now destroyed street.

"Blue!" Daryl yelled running down the street for a few metres before he stopped, watching her disappear into the distance. That was it, he was never gonna see her again. He tried not getting attached to the raptors, knowing that one day this would happen... Well not _this_ but he knew he couldn't be with the animals and look after them for the rest of his life, they were wild animals, but it still hurt. He could just hear Merle's voice in his head telling him to stop being such pussy, but he couldn't help it.

"Hey." Rick suddenly said, grabbing Daryl's shoulder causing Daryl to visibly flinch at the unexpected contact before he leant into Ricks touch. Rick knew how much Blue meant to Daryl and he could see how much he was hurting now that she's gone. "I'm sorry, man." Rick said softly, not knowing what to say to try make him feel better but clearly that was the wrong thing to say as Daryl pulled away from him.

"Go 'n get the kids to the dock, that's where all the tourists 'n workers are waitin' for the boat. You'll be safe there. I gotta go back for Aaron, he's out there still." Daryl informed, slinging his rifle over his shoulders, not waiting for Rick to respond as he began jogging off.

"Daryl! I'm not going without you!" Rick yelled, glancing down at the Carl and Enid beside him before he focused back on Daryl who had stopped running and turned around.

"Ya need to take care of the kids! I promise I'll be back 'n on the ship before it leaves. Now go!" Daryl shouted, staring at Rick with pleating eyes. He didn't want Rick back out in those woods, not when all those dinosaurs were running free. But, he needed to find Aaron, he was still out there from when they were trying to hunt the Indominus, he had to find him. "Please, Rick. Just go." Daryl added, his voice now softer but loud enough for the other man to hear him from across the street.

"Just be safe." Rick replied, knowing he had to get his son and Enid to safety. Daryl could take care of himself, Rick knew that, but he hated the idea of Daryl being out there alone.

"You too!" Daryl called back as Rick watched him run off down the street until he disappeared behind a building. You better make it back to the boat, Dixon, Rick thought to himself before he grabbed Carl and Enid's hands as they began making their way towards the docks.

-

"Aaron? Ya out here man?" Daryl shouted, climbing out the truck he managed to find as glanced around the forest trying to locate his friend. He knew this was the right place, if all the dead bodies and footprints were any indication.

"Daryl?" A familiar voice called out causing Daryl to freeze as he turned in the direction of the voice. A sigh of relief left his lips when he spotted his friend walking out from behind the trees before he pulled the man into a tight hug.

"The hell ya doin' still out here?" Daryl asked, pulling away as he looked his friend up and down to make sure he wasn't injured.

"Didn't know which way was back to the main road. But the Indominus is out here somewhere, why'd you come back for me?" Aaron questioned in confusion.

"Wouldn't leave ya here, Eric would kill me." Daryl simply responded causing Aaron to chuckle as they began walking back to the vehicle he left still running. "The Indominus is dead, but the T-Rex is running free now."

"Do I even want to know?" Aaron asked running his fingers through his curly hair as he looked over at Daryl who shook his head.

"C'mon lets get off this island, then I'll tell ya." Daryl muttered as the two of them continued running.

-

The ship had arrived at daybreak and everyone poured onto the boat. The strong helping the injured aboard the large ship before it descended back to the mainland. Leaving Jurassic World and all the dinosaurs behind on the island.

Rick had no idea if Daryl was on the ship and he had no way of finding out either. He couldn't leave Carl and Enid's side and even if he could, the ship was huge, Daryl could be anywhere. He just had to trust that the other man kept his word.

When the ship finally docked, everyone got escorted off and into a large warehouse that had stretcher beds and chairs set up everywhere. There were people already waiting around in the warehouse and by the sad and panicked expressions on most of them, they were clearly family and friends of the tourists and workers from Jurassic World.

Within minutes the whole warehouse was crowded. Doctors and nurses rushing around to attend to those in need of medical attention, other volunteers walking around offering food and water. Rick managed to find an empty stretcher bed and lead Carl and Enid over towards it. None of them had said much since they got on the ship, still trying to process everything that happened. They all sat down on the bed, Rick looping his arms over both their shoulders as Enid rested her head against his left shoulder and after a few minutes Carl rested his head on his right shoulder.

Rick's eyes never stopped scanning the large crowd of people, trying to find Daryl. He wasn't sure how long they were sitting down for and he was pretty sure Carl fell asleep for a few minutes before Rick spotted Lori and Shane rushing towards them.

"It's your mum and Shane, come on." Rick quickly said standing up from the stretcher bed as Carl and Enid both stood up, wrapping their arms around Lori who had tears dripping down her face before they both hugged Shane as well. He seemed a bit surprised at the gesture, but quickly hugged the two of them back and Rick couldn't help but smile. Shane was still his best friend, even after everything and he knew the man only wanted what was best for Carl.

"Are you okay?" Lori asked, walking over to him as he nodded slightly, fighting back tears himself before she pulled him into a hug.

"I'm so sorry." He whispered, Carl and Enid almost died. He was meant to look after them, he was meant to take care of them, but he couldn't.

"Come here, man." Shane suddenly said walking over to him as Lori pulled away before Shane grabbed his shoulder and pulled him into a hug as well. "Thank God you're alright." Shane said softly, his voice thick and Rick knew he was fighting back tears as well.

"Where's Judith?" Rick asked after a few seconds, breaking the hug as he looked between Shane and Lori.

"Carol offered to babysit her while we came here." Lori replied and Rick nodded, glad that the baby was in safe hands.

After a few minutes he left Lori and Shane with the kids, knowing they probably wanted time alone as he began walking around the warehouse in search of Daryl. He had to have made it on the boat, he was here, Rick knew he was here somewhere.

"Hey." A gruff southern voice suddenly called and Rick's face broke out in a smile as he turned around to find Daryl walking towards him. He had a thick white bandage wrapped around his shoulder from where the pterodactyl had clawed him, but other than that he looked to be okay.

"Thank God." Rick whispered as he wrapped the other man up in a tight hug. He felt Daryl's body tense up at the sudden contact and for a moment Rick thought he might have made a mistake, but then Daryl melted into his hug, wrapping his arms around Ricks waist as he buried his head in the crook of his neck.

They stayed like for a few minutes, both of them needing the touch and comfort of the other after everything that had just happened before Rick eventually pulled away. But before either of them had the chance to speak a familiar voice filled the air as Tara came running up to them.

"I was so worried you didn't make it! Wait, where's Carl and Enid?" Tara questioned her voice quickly turning panicked as she began to look around trying to find the kids.

"They're fine. They're with family." Rick answered and she relaxed hearing the news before she began introducing Rick to her girlfriend, Denise.

The three of them continued talking for a few minutes, Rick quickly sending Daryl an apologetic smile and Daryl shook as he nodded towards the large door to the warehouse to indicate that he was going to get some fresh air. Rick seemed to understand as he nodded, knowing Daryl didn't like being cooped up around a large amount of people.

As Daryl walked out the warehouse he passed Aaron and Eric, who he had been talking to earlier. The couple sending him friendly smiles as he nodded towards them before he walked out the large opened door. He could feel his body instantly relaxing as he took a breath of fresh air. There were still heaps of people standing around outside, along with numerous emergency vehicles. So, he made his way around the side of the warehouse as he pulled out a packet of cigarettes from his vest pocket.

"Damn, ya still wearing that same old vest, little brother?" Merle's voice suddenly shouted as Daryl's head snapped around to where the voice had come from to find Merle walking around the side of the warehouse towards him.

"Merle?" He questioned dumbly as he stared at his older brother in shock. How the hell was his brother here? He was in jail, he was sentenced to 10 years... Daryl began to think when suddenly his brain clicked. That was 13 years ago. Merle had probably been out for three years.

"I know it's been a while, but surely ya ain't dumb enough to forget your own brother." Merle responded a hint of relief flashing across the older Dixon's face as he reached his brother's side and Daryl wanted nothing more than to hug his brother as he felt tears rising in his eyes, but he quickly wiped them away.

"How'd ya know I was here?" Daryl asked, putting his cigarette away as he stared at his brother who honestly hadn't changed in past 13 years. His hair was still short and he sported the same dirty jeans and white tank top, along with his own black leather vest. But, how did Merle know he was at Jurassic World? Yeah, Daryl had told him on his last visit to the prison that he'd gotten a new job out of town, but he never said where.

"Remembered ya telling me about your job at the local mechanics and I asked Dale where ya were. Old bastard didn't wanna tell me at first, said ya had finally gotten ya life together and that I was a bad influence on ya and shit, but he eventually told me." Merle simply replied and Daryl nodded as he slowly proceed the information.

"Why didn't ya call me or somethin'?"

"The old bastard was right, I am a bad influence on ya." Merle answered with a shrug as he looked down at the ground.

"Ya got out of our shit town and made a life for ya self. Probably the first Dixon to actually have a real job, I didn't wanna screw that up for ya." Merle admitted, looking back over at Daryl who was still staring at him in shock. He knew deep down that Merle cared about him, but he never would have thought that his brother cared that much. Maybe 10 years in prison actually did Merle some good.

"Can't believe I'm sayin' this, but I missed ya." Daryl replied unable to stop the smile on his face as Merle chuckle before pulling him into a tight hug.

"Yeah, I actually missed ya pathetic ass too." Merle muttered, patting Daryl's back as he pulled away. Good to know that his brother's way of words was still the same.

"Daryl?" Rick's voice called out as he quickly turned around to find the other man walking towards them, but when Ricks eyes land on Merle he stopped.

"Ain't he that cop?" Merle asked from beside him as Daryl shook his head.

"Used to be." He responded, glancing over at his brother before he walked over to Rick. He could feel Merle watching him as he reached Ricks side and he could tell Rick was just as confused as he was earlier.

"Your brother's out?" Rick asked, his voice slightly hesitant and Daryl didn't blame him. Rick had arrested Merle a few times back in the day and he knew all the stories of when they were kids and how Merle always dragged him into his shit and got him in trouble.

"Apparently so." Daryl replied, not knowing what else to really say to that question as he looked at Rick, watching as the man's eyes flashed over at Merle behind him before focusing back on him.

"So, what do we do now?" Rick asked, unsure if Daryl wanted to give their relationship another shot. It was a long time ago, but after the past two days it was clear they both still had shared feelings. Although now that Merle was back, Rick wasn't sure if Daryl even wanted to be seen around him anymore.

"We should probably stick together... For survival." Daryl replied as a small smile spread across Rick's face.

"Really?" Rick asked his voice hopeful, but he wanted to make sure Daryl actually wanted this. He had fucked up badly with Daryl last time and he was going to make damn well sure that it never happened again. Suddenly, Daryl cupped the sides of Ricks face, instantly pulling him away from his thoughts as Daryl placed a gentle kiss to his lips and Rick quickly kissed him back, their lips fitting perfectly together like a couple puzzle pieces.

"Does that answer ya question?" Daryl asked, but before Rick could respond Merle chuckled from behind them.

"Got a problem with this?" Daryl questioned turning around to face his brother. Shocking Rick slightly, not expecting him to stand up against his older brother, but suddenly feeling proud of Daryl for doing so.

"He ain't a cop no more, so I don't give a shit." The older Dixon responded which wasn't exactly the kind of response Rick was hoping for, but he'll gladly take it. 

"Ya sure 'bout this? 'bout me?" Daryl asked hesitantly, keeping his voice soft so Merle couldn't hear as he turned back towards Rick who simply nodded as grabbed the back of Daryl's neck and kissed him gently, knowing actions proved more than words especially when it came to Daryl. 

"I have never been more sure in my entire life." Rick whispered, pulling away slightly unable to stop himself from smiling as Daryl's lips twitched up into a small smile. Yeah, he was 100 percent sure about this and he would do it right this time.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I said above, I'm sorry it has taken this long to finish, but for those of you who have stuck around, thank you. This is my first ever Rickyl fic and I hope you all enjoyed it.


End file.
